Bolster for a safety cabinet

ABSTRACT

A cabinet including a receptacle having a floor, a front wall, a rear wall, and a pair of opposed sidewalls extending upwardly from the floor. A plurality of bolsters is attached to the floor, each bolster including a lower panel defining at least a first aperture having a longitudinal center axis, and a first and a second sidewall, each extending from the lower panel toward the floor, the first sidewall defining an acute angle with the lower panel and defining a first aperture disposed vertically above a corresponding first aperture of the lower panel. A leg is rotatably received within the first aperture so that rotation of the leg results in the leg moving axially with respect to the lower panel.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/812,892, filed Apr. 17, 2013, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to cabinets. More particularly, the present invention relates to adjustable bolsters for supporting a safety cabinet.

BACKGROUND

Safety cabinets are known in the art for storing containers of flammable, explosive, toxic, etc., materials in a manner that lessens the likelihood of harm from those materials. Safety cabinets can both insulate the stored materials from environmental conditions, such as excessive temperatures, moisture and fire, and prevent the escape of the materials from the cabinet due to leakage and spills from the containers To retain hazardous liquids within the cabinets, it is known to slant shelving toward the cabinet's rear wall, so that spilled liquids flow toward the rear wall rather than off the front edge of the shelf, and to provide a sump area in the bottom of the cabinet. For these features to function in their intended fashion, a safety cabinet must typically be disposed in a level disposition regardless of the support surface on which it sits. As such, it is desirable to be able to adjust the disposition of the cabinet with regard to the support surface.

The present invention recognizes and addresses considerations of prior art constructions and methods.

SUMMARY

One embodiment of a cabinet in accordance with the present disclosure includes a receptacle having a floor, a front wall extending upwardly from the floor, a rear wall extending upwardly from the floor, and a pair of opposed sidewalls extending upwardly from the floor, wherein the floor includes a front edge, a rear edge and a pair of side edges defining a perimeter of an underside surface of the floor, wherein the front edge and the rear edge are parallel to each other and the side edges are parallel to each other. A plurality of bolsters is attached to the underside surface of the floor, each bolster including a lower panel spaced apart from the underside surface of the floor, the lower panel defining at least a first aperture having a longitudinal center axis, and a first and a second sidewall, each sidewall extending from the lower panel toward the floor in a direction parallel to the front edge and the rear edge so that an inner surface of each first and second sidewall defines an acute angle with a topside surface of the lower panel. One of the first and second sidewalls defines at least a first aperture disposed vertically above the first aperture of the lower panel, and a leg is rotatably received within the first aperture of the lower panel so that rotation of the leg with respect to the lower panel results in the leg moving axially with respect to the longitudinal center axis of the first aperture of the lower panel.

Another embodiment of a cabinet in accordance with the present disclosure includes a receptacle having a floor, a front wall extending upwardly from the floor, a rear wall extending upwardly from the floor, and a pair of opposed sidewalls extending upwardly from the floor, wherein the floor includes a front edge, a rear edge and a pair of side edges defining a perimeter of an underside surface of the floor. A plurality of bolsters is attached to the underside surface of the floor, each bolster including a lower panel spaced apart from the underside surface of the floor, the lower panel defining at least a first aperture having a longitudinal center axis, and a first and a second sidewall, each sidewall extending from the lower panel toward the floor, an inner surface of the first sidewall defining an acute angle with a topside surface of the lower panel and defining a first aperture disposed vertically above the first aperture of the lower panel. A leg is rotatably received within the first aperture of the lower panel so that rotation of the leg with respect to the lower panel results in the leg moving axially with respect to the longitudinal center axis of the first aperture of the lower panel.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a safety cabinet having bolsters according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are bottom perspective views of a bolster of the safety cabinet shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of the bolster shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the bolster shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the bolster shown in Figure;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of a bolster for a safety cabinet, in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a top perspective view of the bolster shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a side view of the bolster shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a top view of the bolster shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is a partial front view of the safety cabinet shown in FIG. 1, showing a height adjustment being performed on one of its bolsters;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of a bolster for a safety cabinet, in accordance with the present disclosure; and

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the safety cabinet shown in FIG. 1, including bolsters as shown in FIG. 11, in the process of being lifted by a forklift.

Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification and drawings is intended to represent same or analogous features or elements of the invention according to the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to presently preferred embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation, not limitation, of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope and spirit thereof. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment may be used on another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Referring now to the Figures, as shown in FIG. 1, an embodiment of a safety cabinet 10 in accordance with the present disclosure includes a receptacle 12 having a front wall 11, a rear wall 14 that opposes front wall 11, opposing sidewalls 16 and 18 that are perpendicular to both front wall 11 and rear wall 14, a top wall 22 and a floor 20. Front wall 11 defines an opening (not shown) that permits access to the interior of receptacle 12. A pair of doors 24 and 26 is pivotably attached to receptacle 12 for selectively accessing and securing the interior of the receptacle. A handle 28 is provided for operating a latch mechanism (not shown) that secures doors 24 and 26 in the closed position. Each of sidewalls 16 and 18 defines a recess 23 in which a carrying handle 21 is pivotably mounted. Cabinet 10 also includes a plurality of bolsters 30 affixed to a bottom surface of the cabinet's floor 20. As shown, each bolster 30 is preferably disposed at a corresponding corner of floor 20, as discussed in greater detail below.

Referring additionally to FIGS. 2A through 5, each of the cabinet's bolsters 30 includes a lower panel 32, a pair of opposed sidewalls 34 extending upwardly therefrom, and a pair of upper flanges 44 depending inwardly from the top edges of the opposed sidewalls. As shown, lower panel 32 of each bolster 30 preferably includes a pair of threaded apertures 36 that is provided by a pair of nuts 38 that is welded adjacent corresponding apertures defined by lower panel 32. Each threaded aperture 36 is configured to receive an adjustable leg 50. Each leg 50 includes a head portion 56, a foot 54 and a stem portion 52 extending therebetween that is correspondingly threaded to a respective threaded bore 36. As shown, head portion 56 is preferably hexagonally shaped in cross-section to facilitate rotation by a wrench 70 with a standard deep socket 72 (FIG. 10), and foot 54 is rotatable with respect to threaded stem 52 so that the foot, when frictionally engaging a building floor or other surface, does not rotate while leg 50 is being rotated to adjust the axial position of leg 50 with respect to the remainder of the bolster. Note, although two threaded bores 36 are shown in each bolster 30, alternate embodiments may include only one.

As shown, each sidewall 34 extends upwardly from lower panel 32 such that it forms an acute angle 43 with respect to lower panel 32. Preferably, angle 43 is between 60° and 70°, and in one exemplary embodiment is 63°. Further, each sidewall 34 defines an access aperture 42 that is disposed vertically above a corresponding threaded aperture 36 of lower panel 32. As such, each access aperture 42 is configured to allow the corresponding leg 50 to be adjusted from directly above. In alternate embodiments that include only one threaded bore 36, only the sidewall adjacent the threaded bore needs to define an access aperture 42. Moreover, only the sidewall that is adjacent the bore in which leg 50 is received needs to form an acute angle with lower panel 32, i.e., the other sidewall can be perpendicular to lower panel 32.

Upper flanges 44 are parallel to lower panel 32, and each bolster is preferably affixed to floor 20 of the receptacle by welding upper flanges 44 to its bottom surface. As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 10, each bolster 30 is affixed to floor 20 such that one of its sidewalls 34 extends horizontally outward beyond one of the front, rear and opposed side edges that define a perimeter of the bottom surface of floor 20. As such, as shown in FIG. 10, to adjust the height of each bolster's leg 50, such as when leveling safety cabinet 10, head portion 56 of each leg 50 can be engaged by a tool that is passed through access aperture 42 of the corresponding sidewall 34. In the instant case, hexagonally-shaped head portion 56 of leg 50 is engaged by a standard deep socket 72 and ratcheting wrench 70. Preferably, rotation of each leg 50 in the clockwise (CW) direction, when viewed from above, causes foot 52 to move outwardly away from lower panel 32, thereby raising the corresponding corner of the safety cabinet. Conversely, rotation in the counter-clockwise (CCW) direction lowers the corresponding corner of the cabinet.

Additionally, as shown in FIG. 12, lower panel 32 and sidewalls 34 of each bolster 30 are configured such that each bolster 30 provides an entry window 40 that is configured to slidably receive a prong 82 of a forklift 80. Preferably, bolsters 30 are disposed on floor 20 of receptacle 12 so that entry windows 40 are accessible from the sides of cabinet 10 when moving the cabinet with a forklift 80.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 through 9, an alternate embodiment of a bolster 30 a in accordance with the present disclosure is shown. Bolster 30 a is similar in many aspects to the embodiment previously discussed with regard to FIGS. 2 through 5. Those elements that are similar between the two embodiments are given the same reference numerals and a discussion thereof is not repeated here. In addition to lower panel 32 and sidewalls 34, bolster 30 a includes an outer wall 60 that extends upwardly from a side edge of lower panel 32 and is perpendicular to both sidewalls 34. When affixed to the floor of a cabinet, bolster 30 a is positioned such that outer wall 60 is disposed toward one of the edges of the floor. As such, bolster 30 a does not define an entry window 40 (FIG. 3) through which the prong of a forklift can be received. This bolster configuration can be desirable in that outer wall 60 helps prevent inadvertent damage to adjustable leg 50 a of bolster 30 a, e.g. from a forklift prong. As well, threaded apertures 36 a of bolster 30 a are formed by tapped holes rather than nuts welded to lower panel 32, and adjustable leg 50 a includes a slotted head portion 58 for receiving a bladed tool, such as a standard blade screw driver, rather than a hexagonally-shaped head. Note, in alternate embodiments, the head portion of the adjustable leg may be both hexagonally-shaped and slotted so that it may be driven by either a standard socket or a flat-bladed tool. As well, in alternate embodiments, the head portion of each adjustable leg can be configured to receive hex keys, crosshead screwdrivers, square head drivers, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 11, an alternate embodiment of a bolster 30 b in accordance with the present disclosure is shown. Bolster 30 b differs only from the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 through 9 in the configuration of its outer wall 60 b. Rather than having an outer wall that prevents slidably receiving the prong of a forklift, bolster 30 b includes an outer wall 60 b that only partially restricts access to entry window 40 defined by bolster 30 b. More specifically, outer wall 60 b is configured to prevent contact between the prong of the forklift and adjustable leg 50 a, yet allow the prong be slidably received within access window 40. As shown, outer wall 60 b extends along only a portion of the corresponding side edge of lower panel 32, and extends upwardly for only a portion of the height of the adjacent sidewall 34. Preferably, the dimensions of sidewall 60 b are selected so that inadvertent contact with adjustable leg 50 a is prevented, yet entry window 40 remains as large as possible. As well, outer wall 60 b is slanted inwardly, thereby forming an acute angle with lower panel 32. As such, when contacted by the prong of a forklift, outer wall 60 b deflects the distal end of the prong upwardly away from adjustable leg 50 a into entry window 40.

While one or more preferred embodiments of the invention are described above, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope and spirit thereof. It is intended that the present invention cover such modifications and variations as come within the scope and spirit of the appended claims and their equivalents. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A cabinet, comprising: a receptacle having a floor, a front wall extending upwardly from the floor, a rear wall extending upwardly from the floor, and a pair of opposed sidewalls extending upwardly from the floor, wherein the floor includes a front edge, a rear edge and a pair of side edges defining a perimeter of an underside surface of the floor, wherein the front edge and the rear edge are parallel to each other, and wherein the side edges are parallel to each other; a plurality of bolsters attached to the underside surface of the floor, each bolster comprising: a lower panel spaced apart from the underside surface of the floor, the lower panel defining at least a first aperture having a longitudinal center axis; a first and a second sidewall, each sidewall extending from the lower panel toward the floor so that an inner surface of each first and second sidewall defines an acute angle with a topside surface of the lower panel, one of the first and second sidewalls defining at least a first aperture disposed vertically above the first aperture of the lower panel; and a leg that is rotatably received within the first aperture of the lower panel so that rotation of the leg with respect to the lower panel results in the leg moving axially with respect to the longitudinal center axis of the first aperture of the lower panel.
 2. The cabinet of claim 1, wherein the first aperture of the lower panel further comprises a threaded bore and the leg further comprises a correspondingly threaded stem.
 3. The cabinet of claim 2, wherein the leg further comprises a foot, the foot being rotatable with respect to the threaded stem of the leg.
 4. The cabinet of claim 2, wherein the leg further comprises a head portion, the head portion having a polygonal cross-section taken perpendicular to a longitudinal center axis of the leg.
 5. The cabinet of claim 2, wherein the leg further comprises a head portion defining a recess in its top surface so that the leg is rotatable by a tool having a projection that is correspondingly-shaped to the recess.
 6. The cabinet of claim 1, wherein the longitudinal center axis of the first aperture of the lower panel passes through the first aperture defined by the one of the first and second sidewalls.
 7. The cabinet of claim 1, wherein the first aperture of the one of the first and second sidewalls is defined by the first sidewall, and wherein the first sidewall extends horizontally outwardly beyond the perimeter of the underside surface of the floor.
 8. The cabinet of claim 1, wherein the leg further comprises a first end disposed within the bolster and a second end extending outwardly from the lower panel of the bolster, and rotation of the leg is a clockwise direction, viewed from above through the first aperture of the one of the first and second sidewalls, moves the second portion of the leg outwardly from the lower panel.
 9. The cabinet of claim 1, wherein the first wall of the cabinet defines at least one opening so that an interior of the receptacle is accessible through the opening.
 10. The cabinet of claim 9, further comprising a door that is pivotably connected to the receptacle so that the door is selectively positionable over the at least one opening.
 11. The cabinet of claim 1, wherein each sidewall extends from the lower panel toward the floor in a direction parallel to the front edge and the rear edge of the perimeter of the floor.
 12. A cabinet, comprising: a receptacle having a floor, a front wall extending upwardly from the floor, a rear wall extending upwardly from the floor, and a pair of opposed sidewalls extending upwardly from the floor, wherein the floor includes a front edge, a rear edge and a pair of side edges defining a perimeter of an underside surface of the floor; a plurality of bolsters attached to the underside surface of the floor, each bolster comprising: a lower panel spaced apart from the underside surface of the floor, the lower panel defining at least a first aperture having a longitudinal center axis; a first and a second sidewall, each sidewall extending from the lower panel toward the floor, the first sidewall defining an acute angle with a topside surface of the lower panel and defining a first aperture disposed vertically above the first aperture of the lower panel; and a leg that is rotatably received within the first aperture of the lower panel so that rotation of the leg with respect to the lower panel results in the leg moving axially with respect to the longitudinal center axis of the first aperture of the lower panel.
 13. The cabinet of claim 12, wherein the first aperture of the lower panel further comprises a threaded bore and the leg further comprises a correspondingly threaded stem.
 14. The cabinet of claim 13, wherein the leg further comprises a foot, the foot being rotatable with respect to the threaded stem of the leg.
 15. The cabinet of claim 13, wherein the leg further comprises a head portion, the head portion having a polygonal cross-section taken perpendicular to a longitudinal center axis of the leg.
 16. The cabinet of claim 13, wherein the leg further comprises a head portion defining a recess in its top surface so that the leg is rotatable by a tool having a projection that is correspondingly-shaped to the recess.
 17. The cabinet of claim 12, wherein the longitudinal center axis of the first aperture of the lower panel passes through the first aperture defined by the one of the first and second sidewalls.
 18. The cabinet of claim 12, wherein the first sidewall extends horizontally outwardly beyond the perimeter of the underside surface of the floor.
 19. The cabinet of claim 12, wherein the leg further comprises a first end disposed within the bolster and a second end extending outwardly from the lower panel of the bolster, and rotation of the leg is a clockwise direction, viewed from above through the first aperture of the first sidewall, moves the second end of the leg outwardly from the lower panel. 